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Never Saw Me Coming: How I Outsmarted the FBI and the Entire Banking System―and Pocketed $40 Million
Tanya Smith fancied herself a folk hero, a kind of Robin Hood, using her powers of persuasion to buck the system and help the poor and needy.It started innocently enough, with calls to celebrities' houses alongside her teenage twin sister. Soon, Tanya Smith realised she could convince utility companies to amend the balances of her friends and neighbours, clearing elderly relatives' overdue electricity bills with a single phone call. Eventually, as she tested the limits and realized she could get past any gatekeeper, this superpower, as she came to think of it, morphed into something she wanted access to the actual money herself.By the time she was 18, Tanya had 'confiscated' some $40 million in cash and commodities from US banks, using hacked wire transfers. It didn't take long before the FBI was on her tail. But when interviewing her, they made clear that they were using her to get to the person actually running things - clearly, she wasn't smart enough to do this on her own (Blacks, she was told, rob people, they don't hack computers).Thus began a cat and mouse game with the authorities that would drive her to unthinkable limits, breaking the hearts of her parents, putting Tanya's life in jeopardy, and costing her custody of two children before finally sending her to Federal prison (where she escaped twice) with the longest sentence ever given for a white-collar crime.In the spirit of true crime narratives like Catch Me If You Can , Molly's Game, and Ben Mezrich's Bringing Down the House , SHEER CRAZY NERVE is a gripping caper, but it's also the deeply personal journey of a young Black woman finding her way in a world that underestimated her brilliance. For fans of movies like Hustlers and The Bling Ring , SHEER CRAZY NERVE is a high-stakes, gritty tale of wild financial misdeeds.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published August 13, 2024
205 people are currently reading
2909 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 290 reviews
January 22, 2025
This book could have been cut by 80% if she took out how beautiful she is, how rich she is, how many celebrities she knows, and how smart she is. Did I mention she's super rich and beautiful? And smart? I thought the story was interesting, but the conceitedness and the inability for her to do any kind of self reflection or own up to anything really annoyed me.
August 29, 2024
I'm confused. This started off really exciting and took a turn. Tanya started off as a modern day black lady Robin Hood but turned out to be a total idiot. Also, was this even edited? I don't remember her ever saying what happened to her brother Ryan, and within 3 pages her daughter's name changed from Britney to Denise. Ugh. Disappointing.
August 17, 2025
I listened to Never Saw Me Coming: How I Outsmarted the FBI and the Entire Banking System—and Pocketed $40 Million on audiobook. I am a memoir junkie, and the book description captured my attention.
Alas, my attention waned, and it ended up in the DNF pile.
What I liked about the book:
* The title
* Tanya Smith's chutzpah and ingenuity
What I didn't like about the book:
* Not sure how accurate the title is.
* Smith's tone and tenor was braggadocios which got tiring. It also made me question the credibility of some aspects of her book.
Alas, my attention waned, and it ended up in the DNF pile.
What I liked about the book:
* The title
* Tanya Smith's chutzpah and ingenuity
What I didn't like about the book:
* Not sure how accurate the title is.
* Smith's tone and tenor was braggadocios which got tiring. It also made me question the credibility of some aspects of her book.
August 3, 2024
This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Tanya Smith, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley.
I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting from this memoir but the narrative far surpassed my expectations. The narrative really takes the reader back to the very beginning: the author listening to the Jackson Five as a kid. The reader is walked through Ms. Smith's exploits from minor infractions to increasingly risky endeavors. This was exciting, surprising, and I found myself rooting for Ms. Smith.
I've seen comparisons to the movie 'Catch Me if You Can' with Leonardo DiCaprio & Tom Hanks in other reviews. This has a very similar premise and would make a fantastic TV show or movie. Of course, CMIYC was based on the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr, a con artist who is recruited by the FBI after her success. Tanya was equally successful and equally intelligent. It feels like the FBI didn't find her similarly useful based on gender and race. The prison sentence was the hardest aspect of this story. Certainly Ms. Smith was wrong for how she operated but with a convicted felon as a presidential candidate her sentencing feels unfair.
This was enjoyable, smartly written and fairly exciting for a memoir. I highly recommend this .
This audiobook is narrated by Robin Miles. While I somewhat would've enjoyed hearing this narrated in the authors voice, Robin is an excellent choice for narrator. Robin is am actor and able to convey enough emotion that almost felt like fiction.
Thank you to Tanya Smith, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting from this memoir but the narrative far surpassed my expectations. The narrative really takes the reader back to the very beginning: the author listening to the Jackson Five as a kid. The reader is walked through Ms. Smith's exploits from minor infractions to increasingly risky endeavors. This was exciting, surprising, and I found myself rooting for Ms. Smith.
I've seen comparisons to the movie 'Catch Me if You Can' with Leonardo DiCaprio & Tom Hanks in other reviews. This has a very similar premise and would make a fantastic TV show or movie. Of course, CMIYC was based on the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr, a con artist who is recruited by the FBI after her success. Tanya was equally successful and equally intelligent. It feels like the FBI didn't find her similarly useful based on gender and race. The prison sentence was the hardest aspect of this story. Certainly Ms. Smith was wrong for how she operated but with a convicted felon as a presidential candidate her sentencing feels unfair.
This was enjoyable, smartly written and fairly exciting for a memoir. I highly recommend this .
This audiobook is narrated by Robin Miles. While I somewhat would've enjoyed hearing this narrated in the authors voice, Robin is an excellent choice for narrator. Robin is am actor and able to convey enough emotion that almost felt like fiction.
Thank you to Tanya Smith, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
August 19, 2024
Started off strong but a lot of things were glossed over or just simply made no sense.
She is a con woman and I think she’s conning us now!
She is a con woman and I think she’s conning us now!
September 22, 2024
OK I have a lot of thoughts about this book… 4 stars because it was MAD entertaining. The following are my thoughts with little to no context
- I lost count of how many times she talked about how smart, beautiful, and skinny she is
- she stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the banking system and LITERALLY wrote the line “I never stole from anybody” when writing about her first trial?? Girl what??
- how is a person so brilliant that they figure out how to commit this massive scheme to steal what ended up being millions of dollars, while also having ATROCIOUS taste in their interpersonal relationships??
- girl, every man you date steals from you. CATCH A PATTERN
- I was so taken aback by her attitude when she was in prison.. like girl, again you stole MILLIONS of dollars and you’re surprised that you’re now being treated like a felon.. yeah??
- her prison sentence WAS excessive, but I’m still surprised there was so little evidence of her having any remorse for what she did. Like she never said anything along the lines of “I did steal a huge amount of money from banks, and I brought many people in with me to steal. That was wrong”
Anyways I would recommend if you’re down for the drama
- I lost count of how many times she talked about how smart, beautiful, and skinny she is
- she stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the banking system and LITERALLY wrote the line “I never stole from anybody” when writing about her first trial?? Girl what??
- how is a person so brilliant that they figure out how to commit this massive scheme to steal what ended up being millions of dollars, while also having ATROCIOUS taste in their interpersonal relationships??
- girl, every man you date steals from you. CATCH A PATTERN
- I was so taken aback by her attitude when she was in prison.. like girl, again you stole MILLIONS of dollars and you’re surprised that you’re now being treated like a felon.. yeah??
- her prison sentence WAS excessive, but I’m still surprised there was so little evidence of her having any remorse for what she did. Like she never said anything along the lines of “I did steal a huge amount of money from banks, and I brought many people in with me to steal. That was wrong”
Anyways I would recommend if you’re down for the drama
January 25, 2025
When I saw Never Saw Me Coming by Tanya Smith in my library's catalog I knew I had to read it. Not only had I never heard of Smith before, but I also grew up in Minnesota, so I had to know about this woman that was smart enough to trick the banks out of so much money. It was an eye-opening experience and clearly, she is one smart cookie. She knew the right things to say and do, at least when it came to the banks and other establishments, but she was definitely a little naive when it came to men. The book was a mix of her crimes as well as her life, and I loved hearing all of her stories from when she was growing up. She spent a lot of time name dropping and while some names were lost on me, I knew who a lot of them were and it was pretty wild really.
I did listen to the audiobook and would have loved if Smith would have been able to narrate it herself, but Robin Miles was a dream to listen to and I thought she perfectly embodied Smith. I would highly recommend the audiobook despite it being someone other than the author (my preference for memoirs). Smith also talks a lot about her family in the book, including her twin sister. Some things were left as a bit of a mystery, and I would definitely take a second memoir from her. She started out as something of a Robin Hood, but it is clear she also liked having nice things, so she wasn’t completely innocent to greed (though I’m not sure she sees that judging from the book). I don’t hold it against her though and the things she was able to do were jaw-dropping.
Read this if you enjoy memoirs based on true crime, want a mix of the crime, punishment, and aftermath along with the life, and loved the movie Catch Me If You Can. I hope this is one day a movie!
Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Audiobook Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I did listen to the audiobook and would have loved if Smith would have been able to narrate it herself, but Robin Miles was a dream to listen to and I thought she perfectly embodied Smith. I would highly recommend the audiobook despite it being someone other than the author (my preference for memoirs). Smith also talks a lot about her family in the book, including her twin sister. Some things were left as a bit of a mystery, and I would definitely take a second memoir from her. She started out as something of a Robin Hood, but it is clear she also liked having nice things, so she wasn’t completely innocent to greed (though I’m not sure she sees that judging from the book). I don’t hold it against her though and the things she was able to do were jaw-dropping.
Read this if you enjoy memoirs based on true crime, want a mix of the crime, punishment, and aftermath along with the life, and loved the movie Catch Me If You Can. I hope this is one day a movie!
Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Audiobook Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
July 25, 2024
read if you like:
📔 non-fiction
💁🏻♀️ con artists
💰financial crimes
summary:
This is a rare nonfiction for me, which I picked because the plot looked interesting. It’s about a woman named Tanya Smith (the author), who runs a multi-year scam to defraud banks of millions of dollars. She starts the book by telling us about her escape from prison, and then goes back to the start to tell the story of how she found herself in jail, and everything she gained as a result.
Maybe I’m someone who cares a little too much about justice, but it was hard to read an entire book about someone bragging about defrauding banks. I’m certainly not on the side of large banks, but I can’t imagine there was no impact on the average person as a result of this crime, and the reality is — she didn’t face nearly as much jail time as she could have for her long-running scheme. The book itself is decently written, but focuses more on the life she lived as a result of this wealth rather than her time in prison. She also details the FBI and government investigation of her in detail, acting like their tailing of her and her family was unnecessary and unfounded. It was hard to go from her complaining about that to then discussing the expensive cars she purchased without reflecting on that juxtaposition. She also didn’t spend a lot of time discussing the impact this had on her immediate family, which I felt like was a miss, because it focused more on the benefits of her crimes, rather than the consequences she faced with her relationships.
The story itself is interesting, especially since it doesn’t get much/any media attention given it took place back in the 80’s. However, it’s hard to read about someone who doesn’t seem to have a lot of remorse, and instead focuses more on the pride of her crime, rather than those impacted as a result.
📔 non-fiction
💁🏻♀️ con artists
💰financial crimes
summary:
This is a rare nonfiction for me, which I picked because the plot looked interesting. It’s about a woman named Tanya Smith (the author), who runs a multi-year scam to defraud banks of millions of dollars. She starts the book by telling us about her escape from prison, and then goes back to the start to tell the story of how she found herself in jail, and everything she gained as a result.
Maybe I’m someone who cares a little too much about justice, but it was hard to read an entire book about someone bragging about defrauding banks. I’m certainly not on the side of large banks, but I can’t imagine there was no impact on the average person as a result of this crime, and the reality is — she didn’t face nearly as much jail time as she could have for her long-running scheme. The book itself is decently written, but focuses more on the life she lived as a result of this wealth rather than her time in prison. She also details the FBI and government investigation of her in detail, acting like their tailing of her and her family was unnecessary and unfounded. It was hard to go from her complaining about that to then discussing the expensive cars she purchased without reflecting on that juxtaposition. She also didn’t spend a lot of time discussing the impact this had on her immediate family, which I felt like was a miss, because it focused more on the benefits of her crimes, rather than the consequences she faced with her relationships.
The story itself is interesting, especially since it doesn’t get much/any media attention given it took place back in the 80’s. However, it’s hard to read about someone who doesn’t seem to have a lot of remorse, and instead focuses more on the pride of her crime, rather than those impacted as a result.
October 8, 2024
I have never filled out a book review...and I read many, many books. This is a first. There is NO WAY that this book is factual. In order to believe that this is an accurate memoir, one would have to believe that Tanya Smith met EVERY SINGLE person of note and in the news during the 70's and 80's....in entertainment: Michael Jackson, Katherine Jackson, LaToya Jackson, Prince...in sports: Magic Johnson....in legal circles: F. Lee Bailey, Robert Shapiro....in the news: Squeaky Fromme....these are just the ones I recall off the top of my head. AND that every single one of them commented on how beautiful, classy and intelligent she was...Good, God!!! Ridiculous.
December 16, 2024
I really enjoyed the first chunk of this book but then was distracted by significant editorial errors that made me question how much of it is true. Character names changed, a brother was in the hospital with no explanation, the description of a character’s skin color changed, and a truly questionable time line of a significant relationship that suddenly was only “6 months” long. I got tired of the book before the end.
June 27, 2024
I was super nervous because it isn’t my normal genre but something about the slight smirk on the cover drew me in.
I cried, laughed, had my jaw on the floor, and bit my nails to oblivion.
She explains from very start which I love. Tech savvy and smart. Robin Hood’s the government. Definitely buying this for my shelf. ( netgalley kept crashing during this but im glad I got to review it)
I cried, laughed, had my jaw on the floor, and bit my nails to oblivion.
She explains from very start which I love. Tech savvy and smart. Robin Hood’s the government. Definitely buying this for my shelf. ( netgalley kept crashing during this but im glad I got to review it)
August 7, 2024
This book piqued my interest from the time I read the title and hooked me from prologue through to the epilogue! I was able to finish it in less than a day and I have to say, Ms. Smith has lived quite a life!
I had never heard of Tanya Smith and have not been able to find much about her crimes online due to various newspapers' paywalls, however the book purports to be a true story and I think it is amazing how she was able to use her smarts to manipulate a system that was designed to keep her down. Her writing is gripping and it is near impossible to hit pause as you want to find out what happens next.
Smith began by using telephone tricks in the early 80's as a child to obtain her favorite celebrities' phone numbers and after some discouragement slowly moved into committing financial crimes and giving the money away to others she felt deserved the money. She lived a lavish lifestyle, rubbing elbows with celebrities and well-connected individuals until it all came crashing down and through it all, she maintains a forward-facing attitude that helps her think her way through to how to move on from certain predicaments. In the end, it is her ingenuity and innate intelligence that help her to survive and thrive.
I was surprised to learn that the book was read by someone other than Tanya Smith herself, as Robin Miles' performance convinced me that this was her story! The conviction with which she read certain parts felt as if she lived through these experiences herself. The book was read at a good pace and with great emphasis where needed. It was an enjoyable read/listen.
This audible was produced by Jen Patton-Sanchez (sp?) and the post-production work was by Lepton Productions. I really wish audiobooks came with this information written somewhere as I am never sure of how to spell names when I hear them. This team did a great job of capturing the suspense involved in Smith's story, keeping up the quick pace that makes the readers/listener want to continue to the next chapter, and ending the book on just the right note so that you feel satisfied with the conclusion, although I'd love to know what Ms. Smith is up to nowadays...
I want to thank Hachette Audio Production and Netgalley for allowing me access to the Never Saw Me Coming Advanced Reader's Copy audiobook.
I had never heard of Tanya Smith and have not been able to find much about her crimes online due to various newspapers' paywalls, however the book purports to be a true story and I think it is amazing how she was able to use her smarts to manipulate a system that was designed to keep her down. Her writing is gripping and it is near impossible to hit pause as you want to find out what happens next.
Smith began by using telephone tricks in the early 80's as a child to obtain her favorite celebrities' phone numbers and after some discouragement slowly moved into committing financial crimes and giving the money away to others she felt deserved the money. She lived a lavish lifestyle, rubbing elbows with celebrities and well-connected individuals until it all came crashing down and through it all, she maintains a forward-facing attitude that helps her think her way through to how to move on from certain predicaments. In the end, it is her ingenuity and innate intelligence that help her to survive and thrive.
I was surprised to learn that the book was read by someone other than Tanya Smith herself, as Robin Miles' performance convinced me that this was her story! The conviction with which she read certain parts felt as if she lived through these experiences herself. The book was read at a good pace and with great emphasis where needed. It was an enjoyable read/listen.
This audible was produced by Jen Patton-Sanchez (sp?) and the post-production work was by Lepton Productions. I really wish audiobooks came with this information written somewhere as I am never sure of how to spell names when I hear them. This team did a great job of capturing the suspense involved in Smith's story, keeping up the quick pace that makes the readers/listener want to continue to the next chapter, and ending the book on just the right note so that you feel satisfied with the conclusion, although I'd love to know what Ms. Smith is up to nowadays...
I want to thank Hachette Audio Production and Netgalley for allowing me access to the Never Saw Me Coming Advanced Reader's Copy audiobook.
September 6, 2024
Thank Hachette Audio for the free listening copy.
Greed, grit, and good intentions are all what Tanya Smith possesses.
As a kid, Tanya was smart, and if the saying "too smart for your own good" was the synopsis of this book, it would be all it needed. Tanya started out trying to meet celebrities like Michael Jackson and various other celebrities and quickly got dissuaded from it. Moving on to bigger and better things, Tanya started to see a need in the community around her—a need for money, and of course she knew just what to do to get it.
This story was so captivating to me (I love a good scammer story). Smith was a mastermind, truly in an era where it was so easy to get over the banking system and to have people undermine you because you are Black and a woman. Tanya said I'll show you better than I can tell you. But obviously, at some point, it all caught up to her. The book delves into the justice system and how unjust it is for Black people. Serving her sentence alongside people who committed more heinous crimes with less sentencing, including someone involved with Charles Manson, Tanya received the longest sentence handed to any white-collar criminal. Throughout the trials, Tanya managed to escape twice, get pregnant, and represent herself to get the right sentencing for her crimes. I'd highly recommend this book.
Narration:
Speed 1.75x
Robin Miles did an amazing job narrating this book. I thought it was Tanya herself. The story was already page-turner-worthy, but the audio sealed the deal because of Miles's ability to captivate the listener and make the story sound like it was fiction, which in turn made the made the story that much more engaging.
Greed, grit, and good intentions are all what Tanya Smith possesses.
As a kid, Tanya was smart, and if the saying "too smart for your own good" was the synopsis of this book, it would be all it needed. Tanya started out trying to meet celebrities like Michael Jackson and various other celebrities and quickly got dissuaded from it. Moving on to bigger and better things, Tanya started to see a need in the community around her—a need for money, and of course she knew just what to do to get it.
This story was so captivating to me (I love a good scammer story). Smith was a mastermind, truly in an era where it was so easy to get over the banking system and to have people undermine you because you are Black and a woman. Tanya said I'll show you better than I can tell you. But obviously, at some point, it all caught up to her. The book delves into the justice system and how unjust it is for Black people. Serving her sentence alongside people who committed more heinous crimes with less sentencing, including someone involved with Charles Manson, Tanya received the longest sentence handed to any white-collar criminal. Throughout the trials, Tanya managed to escape twice, get pregnant, and represent herself to get the right sentencing for her crimes. I'd highly recommend this book.
Narration:
Speed 1.75x
Robin Miles did an amazing job narrating this book. I thought it was Tanya herself. The story was already page-turner-worthy, but the audio sealed the deal because of Miles's ability to captivate the listener and make the story sound like it was fiction, which in turn made the made the story that much more engaging.
August 19, 2024
This was frustrating. There was so much lead in when I just wanted to get to the crimes. Like chapters on her trying to meet Michael Jackson… okay. She seems like she had a hard time admitting she was ever wrong, ever dumb (esp. when it came to men) and even when she got caught started whining about how much time she was going to get. Like she didn’t actually do the crimes.
Frustrating.
This was read by Robin Miles who did an amazing job voicing 12 hours of mostly unbelievable nonsense.
Frustrating.
This was read by Robin Miles who did an amazing job voicing 12 hours of mostly unbelievable nonsense.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2024
An exciting page turner!
July 25, 2024
This story is so strange and outrageous that it's almost unbelievable. Tanya Smith chronicles her life since her teenage years (early 70's) until the early 2000's. As I'm listening to the audiobook, I kept thinking how smart she was and how she wasted her intelligence doing corrupt things.
The story reminded me of Catch Me if You Can by Frank Abengale who eluded the FBI for many years. The story is interesting but very long and drawn out in parts. The audiobook is narrated by the author so you get the sense of her timeline in her own words. It was hard to be sympathetic about her story at times. I honestly feel a lot of mixed emotions. One minute it's fascinating and another I'm left feeling sad for her.
Check it out if you want to get in insight into an interesting but troubled life.
The story reminded me of Catch Me if You Can by Frank Abengale who eluded the FBI for many years. The story is interesting but very long and drawn out in parts. The audiobook is narrated by the author so you get the sense of her timeline in her own words. It was hard to be sympathetic about her story at times. I honestly feel a lot of mixed emotions. One minute it's fascinating and another I'm left feeling sad for her.
Check it out if you want to get in insight into an interesting but troubled life.
Read
May 24, 20251.9/5 Yeah this was really not good. The majority of the book was just her talking about how cool and smart and beautiful she is and how much stuff she has. The premise sounded interesting but it ended up just being boring and annoying
October 20, 2024
This story is wildly unbelievable. Just based on the technology alone at the time in 80s. Aside from that, she just happens to run into allll the possible celebrities she can think of wherever she is. And prison escape is just that easy? You just need to sound and look smart?
What really makes it worse is that she seems to be perfect and gets whatever she wants. She's too smart for her own high school, she wants to go to a top school without somehow magically gets a near perfect score, convinced lawyers and other authority figures to do things for her with no benefit for themselves... the list goes on.
I can't even give the book stylistic points because it needs to be edited so much. She has no interpersonal reflection despite the book being in first person POV. Other than how smart, pretty, and rich she is.
Also, her daughters name magically changes from Brittney to Denise a few pages later??
What really makes it worse is that she seems to be perfect and gets whatever she wants. She's too smart for her own high school, she wants to go to a top school without somehow magically gets a near perfect score, convinced lawyers and other authority figures to do things for her with no benefit for themselves... the list goes on.
I can't even give the book stylistic points because it needs to be edited so much. She has no interpersonal reflection despite the book being in first person POV. Other than how smart, pretty, and rich she is.
Also, her daughters name magically changes from Brittney to Denise a few pages later??
September 1, 2024
I actually enjoyed this story of how a woman learned to fool the system. It started with her obsession with Michael Jackson. She was able to scheme her way into getting his phone number. Then she started getting the numbers of other celebrities.
Then she started her financial crimes. Greed consumed her. She did get prison time but she is now free. She also escaped prison too. This is perfect for fans of the film, Catch Me If You Can.
Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and Tanya Smith for the opportunity.
Then she started her financial crimes. Greed consumed her. She did get prison time but she is now free. She also escaped prison too. This is perfect for fans of the film, Catch Me If You Can.
Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and Tanya Smith for the opportunity.
August 26, 2024
Personal Stories/Writing: C
Narration: B
Best Aspect: Gives insight into how a thief works.
Worst Aspect: Over the top in so many spots it was not enjoyable to listen at times.
Recommend: If you are really interested.
Narration: B
Best Aspect: Gives insight into how a thief works.
Worst Aspect: Over the top in so many spots it was not enjoyable to listen at times.
Recommend: If you are really interested.
September 20, 2024
3.25 ୨୧ This is an extremely captivating memoir, & I was hooked from the start! The author is fearless, & tells her story w/ so much authenticity. I just wish this memoir had a little more self-reflection, & maybe a more meaningful ending/conclusion.
September 26, 2024
While the basic story was interesting, it had some holes (bad editing) and wasn't as compelling as you'd expect. And it was so frustrating to hear about her mistakes with shady men. She never walked back her youthful hubris or claims of victimhood. It was tiresome.
Read
January 17, 2025this story was deeply frustrating.
i went into it expecting a thrilling tale about how a young woman games the system andsteals liberates millions of dollars from multiple banks by her early 20s, and there’s certainly a good chunk of the book dedicated to smith’s criminal operations & lavish lifestyle, but the majority of this book is simply sad. tanya smith is smart, perceptive, and quick on her feet, but her story underscores the fact that brilliance, when not properly tended to, can quickly sour. stunt.
for years, smith makes millions, but greed, naïveté, and an inability to see past her present, bring her down.
smith grows up comfortable and with various opportunities, but is always looking for a way to slide in under the cut. most of the time, it works out, and when it doesn’t she learns from it. reworks her efforts and eventually, cultivates a criminal industry that bring in millions. where she loses the plot, is in her inability to try and gain even a little financial literacy; on the surface, it seems that smith ignores lasting wealth for the rush and siren call of materialism. but as the story goes on, it’s clear that smith, despite being the brains of the operation, wants to someone—a man—to take the reigns. to multiply the millions for her, while she nods and smiles. goes with the traditional, sexist, man/woman tripe. it’s baffling and disappointing, but honest. smarts in one area don’t indicate knowledge in another, yet despite smith’s startling naïveté & greed, it is the men she loves, that are tanya smith’s biggest and most hateful enemy.
from almost the first page of this book, it’s clear that smith continually fell into the trap that ensnares so many women: men. violent, controlling, and predatory men, whose sinister affections were extremely conditional. conditions that most of the time, smith was all too happy to adhere to.
it was beyond desperate. and so, so sad.
tanya smith figured out how to game the system before she hit 25, and yet, still felt she needed a man to preside over her, to lend legitimacy to her existence. time and time again, the men smith would connect herself to, from the predator she met as a teenager; to the violently abusive liar that facilitated her demise; to the ex con she impulsively married in jail, all revealed a pulsating, violent, hatred for her. they shamelessly admitted that love was enough and often, not even on the table. they were in it for the money, the sex, and the material gains she could provide. there was never a man of hers that wanted an equal partnership, that realized her shrewd brilliance and wanted to share in that knowledge and build a life. they would pretend to be ‘good’ for as long as it took for smith to fall in love, then drop the act and admit the evil and selfishness behind their actions. it genuinely made me sick to read about how often smith would put her trust in these men, only for them to quickly dominate and demean her. i was stunned to see how she kept going back, giving them multiple chances and often, key roles in her criminal operation. an operation that ran so well, the feds, despite being hot on her trail, couldn’t make heads or tails of the depth of her crimes.
but as hard as it was to read, it wasn’t hard to believe. the patriarchy and all its insidious and diabolical cohorts, built the foundation for this sort of ugly and unbalanced relationship to exist. and unfortunately, some women are so taken in by this sinister notion, they don’t see their chains. the constant societal messaging that says women need men and heterosexual romance to be whole, allows for these vile, self serving men to thrive. to prey on women’s insecurities, fears of loneliness, and use it to their advantage. one especially disgusting ex of smith’s betrays her, not only to the feds, but to the point of harm, viciously taking smith hostage and forcing her to work for him. he ends up punished as a criminal accomplice, but never for what he did to her and for that i just hope hell is hot.
but i have to give tanya smith her credit. MAJOR money flowed. and for a while, she flourished despite the men plotting against her. unfortunately, her greed and arrogance (which i loved, ngl, she was raking in the big bucks and was shitting on the gov’t all the while, icon behaviour why lie) brought on her eventual downfall.
at the end of the day even a smart third is a thief to the law; smith is punished harshly. she is caught & jailed at 26, and despite escaping at the start of her incarceration, she’s found and continues to serve 13 years of her final 20+ year sentence. after scouring law books in the jail library and finding a competent lawyer to take her case, smith is released and tries to make a new life for herself.
i wish her well.
tanya smith’s story, despite the ghostwriting and cliches, kept me riveted and engaged all throughout.
i read that might be made into a film or show and i hope whoever writes/directs it, does her story justice.
i went into it expecting a thrilling tale about how a young woman games the system and
for years, smith makes millions, but greed, naïveté, and an inability to see past her present, bring her down.
smith grows up comfortable and with various opportunities, but is always looking for a way to slide in under the cut. most of the time, it works out, and when it doesn’t she learns from it. reworks her efforts and eventually, cultivates a criminal industry that bring in millions. where she loses the plot, is in her inability to try and gain even a little financial literacy; on the surface, it seems that smith ignores lasting wealth for the rush and siren call of materialism. but as the story goes on, it’s clear that smith, despite being the brains of the operation, wants to someone—a man—to take the reigns. to multiply the millions for her, while she nods and smiles. goes with the traditional, sexist, man/woman tripe. it’s baffling and disappointing, but honest. smarts in one area don’t indicate knowledge in another, yet despite smith’s startling naïveté & greed, it is the men she loves, that are tanya smith’s biggest and most hateful enemy.
from almost the first page of this book, it’s clear that smith continually fell into the trap that ensnares so many women: men. violent, controlling, and predatory men, whose sinister affections were extremely conditional. conditions that most of the time, smith was all too happy to adhere to.
it was beyond desperate. and so, so sad.
tanya smith figured out how to game the system before she hit 25, and yet, still felt she needed a man to preside over her, to lend legitimacy to her existence. time and time again, the men smith would connect herself to, from the predator she met as a teenager; to the violently abusive liar that facilitated her demise; to the ex con she impulsively married in jail, all revealed a pulsating, violent, hatred for her. they shamelessly admitted that love was enough and often, not even on the table. they were in it for the money, the sex, and the material gains she could provide. there was never a man of hers that wanted an equal partnership, that realized her shrewd brilliance and wanted to share in that knowledge and build a life. they would pretend to be ‘good’ for as long as it took for smith to fall in love, then drop the act and admit the evil and selfishness behind their actions. it genuinely made me sick to read about how often smith would put her trust in these men, only for them to quickly dominate and demean her. i was stunned to see how she kept going back, giving them multiple chances and often, key roles in her criminal operation. an operation that ran so well, the feds, despite being hot on her trail, couldn’t make heads or tails of the depth of her crimes.
but as hard as it was to read, it wasn’t hard to believe. the patriarchy and all its insidious and diabolical cohorts, built the foundation for this sort of ugly and unbalanced relationship to exist. and unfortunately, some women are so taken in by this sinister notion, they don’t see their chains. the constant societal messaging that says women need men and heterosexual romance to be whole, allows for these vile, self serving men to thrive. to prey on women’s insecurities, fears of loneliness, and use it to their advantage. one especially disgusting ex of smith’s betrays her, not only to the feds, but to the point of harm, viciously taking smith hostage and forcing her to work for him. he ends up punished as a criminal accomplice, but never for what he did to her and for that i just hope hell is hot.
but i have to give tanya smith her credit. MAJOR money flowed. and for a while, she flourished despite the men plotting against her. unfortunately, her greed and arrogance (which i loved, ngl, she was raking in the big bucks and was shitting on the gov’t all the while, icon behaviour why lie) brought on her eventual downfall.
at the end of the day even a smart third is a thief to the law; smith is punished harshly. she is caught & jailed at 26, and despite escaping at the start of her incarceration, she’s found and continues to serve 13 years of her final 20+ year sentence. after scouring law books in the jail library and finding a competent lawyer to take her case, smith is released and tries to make a new life for herself.
i wish her well.
tanya smith’s story, despite the ghostwriting and cliches, kept me riveted and engaged all throughout.
i read that might be made into a film or show and i hope whoever writes/directs it, does her story justice.
August 11, 2024
Never Saw Me Coming is a true crime story of a young Black woman who created a scheme to manipulate the banking system out of millions. Tanya Smith was a computer-savvy wiz. As a young girl, she used technology to acquire the phone numbers to celebrities such as Michael Jackson. She gradually worked her skills and deposited money into her grandmother's bank account. Seeing how unsuspecting and easy it was, she took bigger risks. By the age of 18, she had stolen millions in cash. Eventually she is caught, sentenced and released thanks to her own brilliant defense.
I struggled through reading Never Saw Me Coming. I questioned the credibility of the narrator within the first few pages. In fact, I was tempted to stop reading but I wanted to see just how outlandish the story would get. Simply put, it was not believable. It was contradicting. It was not factual—and I base this on my own personal knowledge of working in financial institutions from the teller line to a Banker and management position to back office operations.
I am in disbelief that parts of the story and name drops were approved in the editing process. Nonetheless, this is not what bothered me most about Never Saw Me Coming. It was the author's lack of remorse and pride of her financial crimes. She was bragging about defrauding banks pocketing millions of dollars, writing about an extravagant lifestyle while complaining about her and her family being harassed by the FBI as if it were unwarranted.
I could have tolerated this memoir if Tanya's story ended with using her smarts for greater good. But nope, it ended with more selfish pride and an unforgiving air of "look what I got away with." All I can say is wow unbelievable!
Happy Early Pub Day, Tanya Smith! Never Saw Me Coming will be available Tuesday, August 13.
Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie
I struggled through reading Never Saw Me Coming. I questioned the credibility of the narrator within the first few pages. In fact, I was tempted to stop reading but I wanted to see just how outlandish the story would get. Simply put, it was not believable. It was contradicting. It was not factual—and I base this on my own personal knowledge of working in financial institutions from the teller line to a Banker and management position to back office operations.
I am in disbelief that parts of the story and name drops were approved in the editing process. Nonetheless, this is not what bothered me most about Never Saw Me Coming. It was the author's lack of remorse and pride of her financial crimes. She was bragging about defrauding banks pocketing millions of dollars, writing about an extravagant lifestyle while complaining about her and her family being harassed by the FBI as if it were unwarranted.
I could have tolerated this memoir if Tanya's story ended with using her smarts for greater good. But nope, it ended with more selfish pride and an unforgiving air of "look what I got away with." All I can say is wow unbelievable!
Happy Early Pub Day, Tanya Smith! Never Saw Me Coming will be available Tuesday, August 13.
Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie
July 29, 2024
This was an interesting and thrilling but also sad memoir. I love that the author was the narrator for this audiobook. I finished it in one day because I couldn’t stop listening. It was a wild ride and would make a great movie. In fact, Tanya’s story reminds me a bit of the Leonardo DiCaprio movie “Catch Me If You Can”. Making that connection made me wonder if she too would have gotten a high paying job with the FBI instead of a lengthy prison sentence if she were a white man and not a black woman. That’s part of what made the story sad but also Tanya is extremely intelligent and could have done so many incredible things if she used her talents for good instead of evil. It seems like she was given so many chances to turn her life around and walk away from criminal activity but greed and the love of (mostly male) attention kept dragging her back in. A month’s worth of the money she stole could have set her up for years to live a legitimate life on the straight and narrow. It’s heartbreaking that she spent so much of her life in prison and lost the opportunity to be a mother to her older children. I googled her trying to get more info after I finished the book and shockingly there’s not much out there. Apparently there’s a movie coming to Netflix so that could be interesting. Overall this was a fun read and I highly recommend it.
August 19, 2024
Where do I begin… First let me just say they picked the perfect narrator for this biography, Robin Miles is perfection. While listening I had to keep reminding myself this was a biography, the story was so engaging. It reads so much like a novel in all the best ways. The story of how Tanya Smith outsmarted the FBI and stole millions is intriguing in itself, but this story is thrilling filled with romance, complex family dynamics and scandal. I was inspired by Tanya’s brilliance, confidence, and determination. I was also irritated at her naïveté when it came to picking and trusting men. Many times I found myself saying out loud, “Girl!!!”.
This book also highlights flaws and inconsistencies in our judicial system. All around this was such a great listen. An incredible story of resilience. A must read!
Thank you to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for my ARC in return for my honest review.
This book also highlights flaws and inconsistencies in our judicial system. All around this was such a great listen. An incredible story of resilience. A must read!
Thank you to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for my ARC in return for my honest review.
October 23, 2024
This was a wild ride! This is one of those non-fiction books that reads like fiction because it's too unbelievable to be real. Tanya managed to get away with taking a lot of money from banks all over the country but she seems more like a modern day Robin Hood in the beginning anyway (take money from the greedy banks and give it to those in need). As smart as Tanya was in running an efficient money operation, she was terrible with relationships. Each of the men she met and fell in love with use, tricked, and treated her badly (it was maddening to listen to). I would mostly chalk that up to her being young and naïve at the time but it was insane listening to the stories. She tried to escape twice and was on the run for almost a year before being caught (impressive to say the least). I do have some issues with some parts but it was an entertaining story overall.
couldnt-finish
April 2, 2025This is supposed to be a true story but it's written like it's contemporary chick lit humor.
It starts with a prison break.
Then it jumps back to when Tanya was a kid and wanted to be Michael Jackson’s girlfriend, the lengths she went to to get his phone number, and her plan for meeting him, which she accomplished in a roundabout way.
In her first shot at fulfilling her dream, she went through a department store that did travel and, pretending to be an adult, called to order plane tickets to CA for her and her friends. She tells the department store travel agent that her daughter will be picking them up and is allowed to use her credit card. Then, she and her twin, Taryn, and another friend all fly to CA and are met by the police when they get there because the grown-ups figured out what was going on, thanks to a tattle-tale back home. Tanya and Taryn get to go to Compton to stay with an aunt and cousins for a bit but the friend gets flown straight back home.
On another trip to visit the aunt, Taryn doesn’t want to go so Tanya grabs a friend at, at one point, they take a bus and then walk to the Jackson compound where they find Mom Jackson at home but the rest of the group are touring. LaToya drives into the compound and waves.
Some time later, her parents buy a theater called The Capri. They show a lot of Black and martial arts films but also mainstream movies that are no longer top billing. Her dad also lets the community use the space for all sorts of things. He hadn’t been able to get a loan for their first house so a wealthy white friend got it for him and that made him want to pay it forward to his community, which he did tenfold.
Her dad knew a lot of super rich (white) people and was buddies with them (she thinks) and she is dazzled by the opulence of wealth.
She learns how to work white people by watching him.
She and her twin sister became besties with a girl named Tyka, Prince’s little sister. Prince was often yelled at to leave the girls alone; he thought the twins were pests. He was always practicing music, he played all the instruments. He started practicing at The Capri at night and sometimes people would complain about the noise but Tanya’s dad usually let him keep going because he knew the boy had skills.
After seeing how the Pillsburies live, she wants to know what a lot of money is. She starts by snooping her well off neighbors via the bank. She calls the banks and acts really nice and white to get their account balances. At first, she pretends to be customers, but when that doesn’t always play out, she starts acting like an employee who is in a pinch and needs account balance information.
She finds out that all the white people are, at least, getting by but the black people don’t have anything with exception to a couple who are in the rich area.
Her dad tells her about systemic racism and so she wants to help. She finds out a classmate’s family loses electricity because they couldn’t pay a bill so she called the electric company and did her phone magic, pretending to be a clerk who couldn’t get into the computer system to enter the family’s “payment”
By this point, my eyes were rolling so hard.
I quit after ch 3.
It starts with a prison break.
Then it jumps back to when Tanya was a kid and wanted to be Michael Jackson’s girlfriend, the lengths she went to to get his phone number, and her plan for meeting him, which she accomplished in a roundabout way.
In her first shot at fulfilling her dream, she went through a department store that did travel and, pretending to be an adult, called to order plane tickets to CA for her and her friends. She tells the department store travel agent that her daughter will be picking them up and is allowed to use her credit card. Then, she and her twin, Taryn, and another friend all fly to CA and are met by the police when they get there because the grown-ups figured out what was going on, thanks to a tattle-tale back home. Tanya and Taryn get to go to Compton to stay with an aunt and cousins for a bit but the friend gets flown straight back home.
On another trip to visit the aunt, Taryn doesn’t want to go so Tanya grabs a friend at, at one point, they take a bus and then walk to the Jackson compound where they find Mom Jackson at home but the rest of the group are touring. LaToya drives into the compound and waves.
Some time later, her parents buy a theater called The Capri. They show a lot of Black and martial arts films but also mainstream movies that are no longer top billing. Her dad also lets the community use the space for all sorts of things. He hadn’t been able to get a loan for their first house so a wealthy white friend got it for him and that made him want to pay it forward to his community, which he did tenfold.
Her dad knew a lot of super rich (white) people and was buddies with them (she thinks) and she is dazzled by the opulence of wealth.
She learns how to work white people by watching him.
She and her twin sister became besties with a girl named Tyka, Prince’s little sister. Prince was often yelled at to leave the girls alone; he thought the twins were pests. He was always practicing music, he played all the instruments. He started practicing at The Capri at night and sometimes people would complain about the noise but Tanya’s dad usually let him keep going because he knew the boy had skills.
After seeing how the Pillsburies live, she wants to know what a lot of money is. She starts by snooping her well off neighbors via the bank. She calls the banks and acts really nice and white to get their account balances. At first, she pretends to be customers, but when that doesn’t always play out, she starts acting like an employee who is in a pinch and needs account balance information.
She finds out that all the white people are, at least, getting by but the black people don’t have anything with exception to a couple who are in the rich area.
Her dad tells her about systemic racism and so she wants to help. She finds out a classmate’s family loses electricity because they couldn’t pay a bill so she called the electric company and did her phone magic, pretending to be a clerk who couldn’t get into the computer system to enter the family’s “payment”
By this point, my eyes were rolling so hard.
I quit after ch 3.
July 31, 2024
I listened to an advanced copy of the audiobook
Review of the audiobook : 4 stars
The narrator is good and clear at speeds 0.5x-2.5x
My only critic is that there's no chapter breaks (no chapter number or break in the story) so unless you look at your phone/computer you can't know when to naturally pause
Review of the book : 5 stars
I loved this memoir, I cannot comment on how factual or true the events told are as I had never heard of this person before but the way the information is told, the way her story is built up is so compelling, there is a very good balance of personal thoughts and experiences and pertinent critic of the justice system and I am always a fan of stories of true crime that don't have victims (stealing money from banks).
Such an interesting read, entertaining but also a good portrait of how women and especially black women are treated by authorities and the judicial system in the United States.
Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio | Little, Brown & Company for the opportunity to read this book.
Review of the audiobook : 4 stars
The narrator is good and clear at speeds 0.5x-2.5x
My only critic is that there's no chapter breaks (no chapter number or break in the story) so unless you look at your phone/computer you can't know when to naturally pause
Review of the book : 5 stars
I loved this memoir, I cannot comment on how factual or true the events told are as I had never heard of this person before but the way the information is told, the way her story is built up is so compelling, there is a very good balance of personal thoughts and experiences and pertinent critic of the justice system and I am always a fan of stories of true crime that don't have victims (stealing money from banks).
Such an interesting read, entertaining but also a good portrait of how women and especially black women are treated by authorities and the judicial system in the United States.
Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio | Little, Brown & Company for the opportunity to read this book.
March 6, 2025
This was a very interesting and animated read/listen. It didn't feel like a memoir to me. I'm not sure if that's because I listened and the narrator is one I'm very familiar hearing for fiction books or that's just the style in which it was written. I will say hearing about Tanya Smith's life of crime definitely peaked my interest and I may look into learning more about her.
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